Branding is the foundation of your business and will ultimately determine how successful your organization will be. Unfortunately, there are a number of business owners that don't prioritize branding from the beginning or just simply are not consistent with branding throughout every aspect of how they operate.

There are several other reasons why your current branding strategy may need some tweaking, such as if there has been a fundamental change to your business, a need to become more relevant in a changing marketplace, or the desire to further differentiate your brand from the competition.

If your business is not getting the desired results, it may be time to think about a rebrand. While this may sound like a daunting task, partnering with an experienced creative team can help to ensure that the rebranding process goes smoothly and produces the right results.
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Over the years, there have been a number of widely recognizable brands that have made the decision to rebrand. To offer some inspiration and show how well a rebranding strategy can work, here are 2 of the most successful rebranding campaigns of the past decade:

This preppy retailer of women's, men's, and children's clothing has always been known for its use of bright, cleverly named colors in its designs. However, like many other clothing retailers, J. Crew's sales were plummeting with so much competition in the marketplace.

CEO Millard Drexler, who appeared on the scene in 2003, helped the brand turn a profit for the first time in five years and increased revenue by 107 percent between 2003 and 2008. What was the secret behind J. Crew's success? The brand was re-energized and re-positioned to become a retailer that sells the basics--tank tops, capri pants, and jeans--with a hint of luxury. It also didn't hurt that First Lady Michelle Obama essentially became a spokeswoman for the brand, sporting J. Crew ensembles during inauguration festivities and other public appearances.
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J. Crew equates much of its rebranding success by simply listening to the needs of its customers. For example, when Drexler learned that customers were purchasing J. Crew's simple sundresses to serve as bridesmaid dresses, the brand introduced a bridal line. As you consider a rebrand for your business, take this lesson from J. Crew and consider the needs of your audience and how you can make their lives easier.

Old Spice has been around for 70 years, and until recently, there was nothing really special about the brand in consumers' eyes other than the fact that it produced a reliable deodorant and body wash. So how do you make a brand in this industry really stand out? Old Spice's answer: create a series of videos--with a character that people actually like and an experience that people want to be a part of--and share it on social media.

To accomplish this, the brand used Isaiah Mustafa, dubbed him "The Most Interesting Man in the World 2.0," and created a video marketing campaign based on the theme "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like." The crowd went wild for this rebranding strategy, with the original video attracting 19 million views across a variety of social media platforms.

The lesson learned here is that you really can take a product or service that the consumer does not particularly view as interesting and use resources such as social media to brand it to become something that everybody wants to talk about and be a part of.
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Branding conveys quality, credibility, and experience for your business. If it's time for a rebrand, take note of these examples and do it the right way.

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